Instep guard for safety shoes



Oct. 14, 1952 F. F. MGLAUGHLIN 2,613,457

INSTEP GUARD FOR SAFETY SHOES Original Filed April 25, 1947 "way/271 41 I N VEN TOR cdwa i McLaugH'm.

Ordinarily, the protector 19 may move up and down relative to the brackets 22 with the movements of the foot. If the shoe should be hit by a heavy object in the region of the protector 19, the protector will be pushed down and the lower margin of the protector will engage the shoulders 26, whereupon the protector will act in the same manner as the toe cap and will. prevent injury to the foot.

Obviously, the protector IS, in spite of the loose connection of its ends, may impede the putting on and taking 01f of the shoe becauseit prevents the shoe from being spread apart after opening the front lacings 13. To facilitate the putting on and the taking off, the shoe may be provided, preferably on its outside, with an additional closure means. In the illustrated embodiment, such means consists in a slot provided with a slide fastener 21. For putting on or taking off, the shoe, the slide fastener closure, as well as the lacing, is used. The slide fastener 21 does not actually tighten the shoe but such tightening to fit the foot of the wearer is done by the. lacings l3, as usual.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, the ends of the protector l9 are held in a slot 28 between two upstanding arms 29 and 30 of a bracket 3|, the outer arm 30 fitting between the outside of the protector l9 and the outer shoe leather l I.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the

brackets at the bottom of the protector I9 of the preceding embodiments are dispensed with. In this embodiment, the protector 32, which otherwise may have the same form as the protectors I9 of the preceding embodiments, has its lower margin thickened at 33. This thickened end 33 is ordinarily raised slightly above the sole l4 but when the protector is hit by an object and thereby pushed down, the thickened end will engage the sole and will distribute the load over an area of the sole greater than the cross-sectional area of the protector 32, without cutting into the sole.

The invention is not restricted to the illustrated embodiments but is subject to further embodiments, and protection is sought for the invention as expressed by the spirit and the language of the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Safety shoe having an impact-resistant, stiff, substantially rigid protector, such as a protector of sheet steel, embedded in the shoe upper over and continuously acros the instep between the break line and the ankle portion of the shoe.

2. In a safety shoe, an instep guard embedded in the shoe upper, said guard consisting of an essentially hard, impact-resistant material such as sheet metal, extending across the instep from the margin of the sole on one side to the margin of the sole on the other side and having an extensible joint between said margins so as to give sufficient flexibility to the shoe for walking and for putting on and taking off of the shoe.

3. A safety shoe havin embedded in its upper an instep guard in the form of a transversely arched band arranged between the break line and the ankle portion consisting of a hard, impactresistant material such as sheet metal, said guard extending between the opposite margins of the shoe sole, at least one of the lateral margins of the guard being movable up and down relative to the sole so as to afford a certain amount of'flexibility of the shoe upper provided with the guard.

4. Safety shoe comprising an instep guard in the form of a stiff web of a hard, impact-resistant material such as sheet metal, said web extending in an upward arch from one margin of the sole to the opposite margin, at least along one of said margins the instep guard consisting of two pieces, one of which is secured to and supported by the adjoining marginal portion of the sole and adapted for engagement by the adjoining other piece of the guard when the instep region of the shoe is forced down as by a heavy falling object while permitting upward movement of said other piece.

5. safety shoe comprising an instep guard in the form of a stiff band embedded in the shoe upper. arranged between the break line and the ankle region of the foot and extending in an arch from one margin to the opposite margin of the sole, both ends of said band being held by the upper closely adjacent portion of the sole while permitting up and down movement of the band relative to the sole, the arrangement being such that the instep guard engages by its margin said portions of the sole when the mid portion of the guard is pressed down as by a heavy falling object.

6. A safety shoe having embedded in its upper an instep guard in the form of a transversely arched impact-resistant band arranged between the break line and the ankle portion, said guard extending between the opposite margins of the shoe sole, at least one of the lateral margins of the guard being movable up and down relative to the sole so as to afford a certain amount of flexibility of the shoe upper provided with the guard, and means for distributing a load exerted on the instep guard from the latter over an area of the sole which is greater than the cross. sectional area of said guard.

7. Safety shoe according to claim 6 in which said means comprise a. bracket in permanent firm engagement with the sole and in loose engagement with the remainder of the guard.

8. Safety shoe according to claim 6 in which said means comprise a bracket secured to the sole and provided with guiding means for the adjoining margin of the guard and with a shoulder for abutment by said margin.

9. Safety shoe according to claim 6 in which the said means consists of a bracket secured to the sole and provided with a slot telescopingly receiving the marginal portion of the adjoining part of the guard.

10. As an article of manufacture, an instep guard adapted for embedding in the shoe upper, said instep guard consisting of a transversely arched band of a stiff, impact-resistant material suchas metal, said band beingv formed along its lateral margins for engagement with lateral marginal portions of the shoe sole and between said margins for extendin across the instep between break line and ankle of. a wearer of a shoe provided with said guard.

11. As an article of manufacture, an instep guard adapted for embedding in the shoe upper, said instep guard consisting of a transversely arched band of a stiff, impact-resistant material such as metal, said band being formed along its lateral margins for engagement with lateral marginal portions of the shoe sole and between said margins for extending across the instep between break line and ankle of a wearer of av shoe provided with said guard, said band having at least one of its margins adapted for engaging the top of the sole and laterally widened for distributing the load over a large area of the shoe sole.

12. As an article of manufacture, an instep guard adapted for embedding in the shoe upper, said instep guard consisting of a transversely arched band of a stiff, impact-resistant material such as metal, said band being formed along its lateral margins for engagement with lateral marginal portions of the shoe sole and between said margins for extending across the instep between break line and ankle of a wearer of a shoe provided with said guard, and at least one bracket having a first arm adapted for engagement with the sole of a shoe at one side thereof and having a second upstanding arm providing a slot for telescopingly receiving and guiding an adjoining portion of a lateral margin of said instep guard.

13. A safety shoe of the Blucher type having lacings and embedded in its upper an instep guard in the form of a transversely arched band arranged between the break line and the ankle portion, said guard extending between the opposite margins of the shoe sole in an upward arch across the instep region, at least one of the lateral margins of the guard being movable up and down relative to the sole so as to afford a certain amount of flexibility of the shoe upper provided with the guard.

14. A safety shoe having embedded in its upper an instep guard in the form of a transversely arched band arranged between the break line and the ankle portion, said guard extending between the opposite margins of the shoe sole, at least one of the lateral margins of the guard being movable up and down relative to the sole so as to afford a certain amount of flexibility of the shoe upper provided with the guard, and a pair of brackets secured to the sole at longitudinally spaced locations and in loose engagement with said movable margin of the guards, said spacing of the brackets permitting the sole to flex in the region between them.

EDWARD F. McLAUGI-ILIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 564,966 Brewer Aug. 4, 1896 1,742,763 Gerard Jan. 7, 1930 2,393,810 Purinton Jan. 29, 1946 

